diff --git a/railties/lib/rails/commands/console.rb b/railties/lib/rails/commands/console.rb
index 86376ac7e6..d7c9e820dc 100644
--- a/railties/lib/rails/commands/console.rb
+++ b/railties/lib/rails/commands/console.rb
@@ -24,6 +24,9 @@ module Rails
         OptionParser.new do |opt|
           opt.banner = "Usage: console [environment] [options]"
           opt.on('-s', '--sandbox', 'Rollback database modifications on exit.') { |v| options[:sandbox] = v }
+          opt.on("-e", "--environment=name", String,
+                  "Specifies the environment to run this console under (test/development/production).",
+                  "Default: development") { |v| options[:environment] = v.strip }
           opt.on("--debugger", 'Enable ruby-debugging for the console.') { |v| options[:debugger] = v }
           opt.parse!(arguments)
         end
@@ -36,6 +39,14 @@ module Rails
       options[:sandbox]
     end
 
+    def environment?
+      options[:environment]
+    end
+
+    def set_environment!
+      Rails.env = options[:environment]
+    end
+
     def debugger?
       options[:debugger]
     end
@@ -45,6 +56,8 @@ module Rails
 
       require_debugger if debugger?
 
+      set_environment! if environment?
+
       if sandbox?
         puts "Loading #{Rails.env} environment in sandbox (Rails #{Rails.version})"
         puts "Any modifications you make will be rolled back on exit"
diff --git a/railties/test/commands/console_test.rb b/railties/test/commands/console_test.rb
index 01847ae58c..9aa1d68675 100644
--- a/railties/test/commands/console_test.rb
+++ b/railties/test/commands/console_test.rb
@@ -55,6 +55,25 @@ class Rails::ConsoleTest < ActiveSupport::TestCase
     assert_match /Loading \w+ environment in sandbox \(Rails/, output
   end
 
+  def test_console_with_environment
+    app.expects(:sandbox=).with(nil)
+    FakeConsole.expects(:start)
+
+    start ["-e production"]
+
+    assert_match /production/, output
+  end
+
+  def test_console_with_rails_environment
+    app.expects(:sandbox=).with(nil)
+    FakeConsole.expects(:start)
+
+    start ["RAILS_ENV=production"]
+
+    assert_match /production/, output
+  end
+
+
   def test_console_defaults_to_IRB
     config = mock("config", :console => nil)
     app = mock("app", :config => config)